Valentino Rossi and Mick Doohan hail crew chief

Valentino Rossi and Mick Doohan have paid tribute to Jerry Burgess after the Aussie crew chief reached another incredible milestone.

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Rossi’s success at the Malaysian GP in Sepang, where he wrapped up a ninth win of 2008, took Burgess over the 150 mark for premier class victories.

The Italian is responsible for nearly half of those race wins with his tally now at a record-breaking 71, while Aussie legend Doohan contributed 54 wins to Burgess’ tally during a dominant spell in the mid-Nineties.

Rossi, who teamed up with Burgess in 2000 after Doohan was forced to retire through injury, said: “I am happy for him but not 100 per cent because for me it is impossible to arrive at the same number as him.

“And because we are together, if I win then he wins so my fight with Jerry is already lost! He is a fantastic man and he is very good in the work. He understands the way to set-up the bike but especially his best quality is he is always quiet. He is always the same.

“He is very happy when we win. He is not happy when we lose but also he is not nervous or angry. So he always positive for the future and he tries to understand what is the problem and he tries to look at the positive way for the next race.”

Rossi said a Burgess figure in Formula One would be revered; yet it was only winning races that motivated Burgess, who also worked with Ron Haslam, Randy Mamola and Freddie Spencer.

“If he was in F1 he would be famous and very rich. I think F1 is not his place. He likes motorcycles and he likes this type of life. He likes to drink beer at night and he likes to live in the paddock in his way. He would prefer it like this even if he is not as rich, “said Rossi.

Doohan also heaped praise on Burgess, citing him as a key reason why he was able to win five successive world titles between 1994 and ’98.

Assessing the attributes that make Burgess the standout engineer in the paddock, Doohan said: “It’s his calmness. He is good at getting a feel from the rider of really what he is trying to say. He might not be very, very technical, but he gets a feel for what you are saying and he can translate your body language and what you’re saying with what he needs to do with the machine.

“He is a team leader, He’s not a yes man, so he’ll direct and he’s not shy at making the team working as a team so everyone knows exactly what they are doing. He grows with every race win as well.

“He learns by his mistakes too and he is definitely one of the true engineers in the paddock and it’s a shame they don’t reward them here like they do in F1.”